Fight for the Lost
by SheWhomLaughsLast
Summary: Rocket comes back to save Baby from the asylum, but when a rescue turns into Baby's hunt for revenge, Rocket's loyalty to the smaller girl is put to the test. Will her Guardian stay and help her fight? Or are there some paths we must walk alone?
1. Chapter 1

_Revenge,_

_Revenge is something that eats away at the souls of good men and settles in their hearts like a poison. It carves away at their sanity until they're only hollow remains of the person they'd been. It's a flame that, once lit, is never extinguished. It sears you insides, killing you slowly like a cancer._

_The only way to ease the pain is with the blood of the guilty._

_After that, and only after that, can the soul finally rest._

"Waky-waky Babydoll." A voice cooed to me, a sudden weight pressing down on the foot of my bed. I blinked groggily and rubbed at my stinging, swollen eyes, feeling congested from sobbing like a child. Tomorrow, I was going to have a needle smashed into my brain. Tomorrow, they were going to turn me into a vegetable.

Tomorrow, it was all going to end and my journey would be complete. I would be able to live in my imagination for the rest of my life and beyond.

Tomorrow, everything would end.

It scared me so much to know I'd be forever disjointed from the waking world. But, at the same time, I already was. I didn't fit in the world around me, the one where I'm in an insane asylum and I killed my little sister. I just barely fit in the brothel and I fit best in a world filled with dragons and Robot Nazis, with my friends and my guide. But even that place would never be the same again. Sweet Pea was on her way home if not already there and Rocket, Amber and Blondie were all dead. I knew that this had been the way it was supposed to be. I knew that there would be consequences for everything we did. For everything we didn't do. So why did I feel so ashamed? So guilty that the prices had been paid in full?

"Baby, you gonna wake up or are you gonna make me sit here all night talking to myself?" I blinked a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the dark and recognized the outline of someone sitting at the end of my bed, short hair sticking out at random angles. "There she is." I swallowed hard.

"Rocket?" I held my breath, the thought of the strawberry-blonde actually being here, actually living and breathing only a foot or so from me made my heart squeeze painfully in my chest. My blood pounded mercilessly in my ears. I wanted so badly for it to be her, it made me wonder if I was tricking myself into it. If I conjured her up from my memories and prayers and whatever was left of my sanity and created a grand illusion. I stopped my train of thought for a moment and realised something.

I didn't care.

"Yeah, Babydoll" she said softly as I sat up "it's me." I stared at her for a moment before my arms flew around her, pulling her close to me and feeling the slight 'whoa' that passed through her lips at my sudden attack. She patted my back "if this is the greeting I get, I should die more often." And then I started to cry again. The memory of watching the train explode as Amber, Sweet Pea and I flew away and then having to watch her die slowly again on the kitchen floor pierced my heart like shards of glass, spreading grief and misery like poison through my veins. "Oh shit." She murmured, pulling me closer to her and rubbing my back. I had to watch my best friend die twice over. I had to feel the overwhelming loss take away my breath one time after another. In a little more than a week, I lost my mother, my sister, and all of the people I cared about. So holding Rocket in my arms and having her make a joke about her own death was like rubbing salt in a fresh wound. "Oh hell, Oh, Baby, I didn't mean that I like being dead, I was just trying to lighten the mood or something. Being dead isn't so bad, believe it or not." I cried for a little while longer, my head cradled against her chest and my arms around her slim frame. She held me still, gently stroking my head like a child's. "I met your sister." She whispered into my hair and I froze. "She told me what happened. About your mom and how you—" I let out one, harsh, heartbroken sob and she didn't finish. "She told me she knows you didn't mean to. That you were only trying to save her from your step-father…oh Babydoll, I'm so sorry." She murmured. She moved so she could hold me in her lap, rocking me back and forth slowly, my face hidden in her neck. My tininess made it all the more easy not to mention comfortable.

"Why did you come back?" I asked after a few moments, she laughed once without humour, I could see a small smile playing on her lips.

"Why? You complaining?"

"No! No, I mean…"

"I'm just joshin' with you, Babydoll." She muttered with slight exasperation. "I'm here, because you called me here." I blinked a few times but didn't move from her embrace.

"I…I did?"

"Evidently." She sighed and smiled down at me "I could hear you crying before you fell asleep and as you slept…I felt how alone you were. How much you wished you could just see one of us one last time…" She held me closer to her "so I came to help you, to give you that last request." I snuggled my head closer to her. Being this…intimate, with Rocket wasn't unusual for anyone, especially not me. Not after I'd saved her from the cook and she'd sat with me as I cried my first night at the brothel. And for that, I was glad. The one thing I needed the most in the world right then and there was for someone who cared about me to hold me and tell me things would get better.

Well, I guess one out of two isn't all too bad.

"Listen." She said gently, like she was trying to make everything she said crystal clear but not upsetting. "We don't have much time. We need to get you out of here before dawn breaks." I tensed and pulled away enough that I could look at her, so I could see the serious glint in her usually playful eyes.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, she tightened her grip on my arms "how do you expect me to get out? I'm on 'round-the-clock watch until my lobotomy in the morning." She winced at the mention of my operation and pulled me to my feet, standing at the same time. That something I hadn't expected seeing as she wasn't exactly alive anymore.

"Listen, Baby," she said, grasping my face roughly in her hands. "In this world, there are a lot of things that we have no control over. It's reality, Babydoll, it's a prison. It's YOUR prison and you've already found the key to freedom. You can control the worlds you create. We've done it before." She looked at the clock "I figure we've only got about seven and half hours before they come to take you, we've gotta a lot to do and need to be long gone before then."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my brain still clouded with sleep. She looked back at me, a smirk twisting her lips.

"It's time for a jailbreak."


	2. The Labyrinth

"To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another." ~Katherine Paterson, _Jacob Have I Loved_

_I sat up in my bed, listening to Rocket sniffle in the darkness. It was the night after the incident with the cook and she'd been crying for what seemed like hours for the second night in a row. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw that Sweet Pea had joined her sister in her bed, the short haired girl's head resting in older girl's lap. Sweet Pea's fingers gently pulled through Rockets hair, trying to sooth her without waking anyone else. I glance around the room and was met by the eyes of Amber and Blondie, their eyes reflecting the moonlight as they sat vigil for Rocket. Seeing the youngest of their group so distraught had obviously disturbed their hollow sense of security, making it impossible to sleep. It was clear right about then that Sweet Pea was like their alpha female; the leader of the pack. That she was the one to call the shots. And that her and her sister had a connection that no one could fully understand._

_I watched the elegant blonde comfort her sister for a few more moments before I swung my legs over the side of the bed. I heaved myself to my feet before walking over to Rocket's bed. Blondie and Amber's eyes followed me the whole way. Sweet Pea didn't look up until I sat on the opposite side of Rocket. The pixie-haired girl's hand found mine and squeezed it gently. Her acceptance of my presence made her protector relax. She didn't move her head from her sister's lap. "I don't know how this plan of yours is going to work, Babydoll." Sweet Pea said softly, wiping away a few tears from Rocket's face "but, Rocket seems to trust you." She looked back at me, her eyes intense even with the lack of lighting. "And I'm eternally grateful to you for saving her from that disgusting pig." She looked back down at her lap, at her baby sister's tearful eyes. _

"_You don't have to be." I said gently, laying my hand over top of Rocket "your sister's the first person to be nice to me since I got here." She chuckled once, half a smile turning her lips, knowing my comment was directed at her, and seeming to approve._

"_Being nice is what she does." The bed sank down on the opposite side from Sweet Pea and I, Amber and Blondie had joined us, shifting Rocket slightly so her torso laid in Blondie's lap and legs draped over Amber's. We all sat like that together, not only comforting the youngest of us, but swearing a silent promise, one that we would keep until the end._

_No matter who died, no matter what happened or who got hurt, we would fight for freedom until we got it. _

Too bad only one of us would see the light of day, unless Rocket's insane plan actually worked out. "Babydoll, come on." She said, snapping me out of the memory. "The guards are going to be changing in two minutes. Blue's taking a twenty minute break to go…" she closed her eyes tightly " 'check' on some of the newer girls. That's when you break into his office and find the papers."

"Where will they be?"

"Filing cabinet, second drawer to the bottom." She glanced around the corner and back to me. I nodded

"What's next?"

"Next, you take the papers and make a b-line for Gorski. You hide behind her skirt like a scared little kid and they won't be able to touch you."

"How can you be sure?" I asked and she looked down at her hands

"I just do, alright? Women like Gorski have a natural maternal instinct. And the only thing in this world you should fear more than hell" she gave me a cocky smirk "is a mother who sees a child in danger." Another glance around the corner and her hands held my face tightly. "Ready, set…" her hand covered my eyes.

"Go."

A heavy rush of air blew my hair back from my face. I stood at what appeared to be the beginning of a giant maze, the light haired red head standing next to me, just as bewildered as I was. The paths were lit with torches, cobwebs hung from the ceiling.

"Where are we?" I asked, glancing around the stone room and walking forward slowly.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing." She murmured, following me carefully, her eyes trailing along the walls. "It looks…ancient." Her fingers trailed along the stone walls and grabbed the torch from the holder.

"An ancient maze?" I took a couple steps more before tripping and landing face first in a pile of sticks.

"Jesus! Baby, you alright?" Rocket's hurried steps neared as I pushed myself up, my hand resting on what felt like a smooth stone. The darkness was blinding, making it impossible to tell up from down.

"Yeah," I said, feeling her hand grasp my bicep. But, her help was unneeded. The light from the torch revealed something that turned my blood to ice. Something that shocked me so bad I thought I might die from surprise alone.

What I'd thought had been only sticks and stones were bones, my hand placed directly on a skull.

Rocket and I fell backwards, me landing on her, a loud scream ripping from us both. "What the hell?" Rocket gasped, clutching me to her in surprise. My fingers dug into her leg, my heart hammering like a drum and eyes locked onto the body. The bones were brown, aged dramatically over a long period of time. The jaw slack and stuck in a permanent scream. But what they'd been so afraid of I couldn't imagine.

Then, as if on cue, an animalistic howl echoed from within the belly of the maze, the horrible sound bouncing off the walls like it was being answered by many others.

I swallowed hard and glanced back at Rocket, the look in her eyes told me that she was scared shitless, but prepared to face whatever was to come. I stood up slowly, pulling Rocket along with me. "I must not fear." She said softly, pulling the assault rifle off her back. She replaced the torch and instead turned on the flashlight connected to her weapon. "Fear is the mind killer." She said softly, walking down one hall, her gun trained a head. I pulled my sword out of its sheath, taking comfort in its solid weight and followed after my not-so-dead dead friend, noting the brass bull head carved into the wall as we exited our starting point. I turned so I walked backwards, Rocket's hand coming back and her finger hooking into the back of my waist band, leading me as I watched our backs. We silently made our way through the halls, entrance by entrance we dove deeper into the oblivion, slowly nearing our destination, no sign of any opponents for what seemed like hours. I swallowed hard, feeling sweat beading on my forehead. The suspense was brutal; worse than actually fighting.

I bit back a gasp of surprise when Rocket's hand pressed into my back, stopping me in my tracks. She put a finger over her lips, her eyes searching the darkness as she thought. I sat in the eerie silence as Rocket listened to something I couldn't hear. My brows furrowed. Did death give her some kind of superhuman boost? Like heightened senses or something? I shook my head. It didn't matter. Not now anyways.

Suddenly, Rocket flicked off her flashlight, plunging us into darkness, and pulled me back against the wall. Mere seconds later, thunderous footsteps shook the solid walls around us, dirt and dust sprinkling down and tickling my nose. A few moments came and went before the looming shape of a beast I'd never seen before lumbered in our direction. It wasn't as giant as it's footsteps had lead me to believe, but the strength it must've taken to make a sound like that chilled me to the bone knowing it wasn't going to play nice if it saw us. Rocket's arm tensed around my waist, her eyes never leaving the seven foot tall, bull headed man as he moved through the dark, paying no mind to us.

Or maybe just not seeing us.

Rocket turned to me when the footsteps began to fade, her eyes glancing over at the spot the monster had disappeared into. "Baby, we're getting close now, but—" the horrible howl from earlier rang through the air again, shaking the walls more violently than before. The sound so loud I covered my ears, hoping to ease the agonizing vibrations. The footsteps turned back in our direction, loud crashes of a running death machine. Rocket grabbed my hand and started running, pulling me along with her as she dove deeper into the maze. She pulled her gun as the beast caught up with us, firing several rounds at his chest. He deflected the bullets with the braces on his forearms. A sharp back hand sent Rocket's gun flying from her hand, into the wall and shattering like glass. I grabbed my pistol and trained it on his head. "Don't!" Rocket yelped, grabbing my forearm and pushing me back. "This is only going to slow you down." She glanced at me over her shoulder as the Minotaur kicked up dirt, whipped it's head and crouched to charge. "Do you trust me, Baby?" I swallowed hard.

"Now really isn't the time for that kind of question, Rocket!"

"Do you trust me!"

"YES!" I yelled as the monster charged for us, head bowed, horns glinting in the torchlight.

"Good!" then, with a flash of light, the bull collided with Rocket, the dirt kicking up violently in a cloud, blinding me. I fell back under the force of another body, but, to my surprise, the pain of horns didn't come. I hesitantly opened my eyes, scared that I would see Rocket impaled and dying before me yet again. But, instead, I saw something that surprised me into silence.

Rocket stood in front of me, her hands gripping the charging bull's horns, pushing back against his attack. Two massive wings fanned from her back, the feathers acting like parachutes and softening the impact. He dug is fingers into the ground and heaved again, Rocket's feet slid in the dirt but otherwise kept her stance. She looked at me over her shoulder, "now would be an excellent time to GO FIND THE THING WE CAME HERE FOR!" I nodded, startled by the fierceness of her words and pulled myself to my feet, taking off towards the centre of the maze.

"Right!" I caught a glimpse of Rocket tossing her attacker into one of the stone walls before I disappeared around the corner. I ran as hard as I could, weaving in and out of the hallways, hearing the sounds of the fight echoing after me until finally, I reached my destination. The centre of the maze was a large dome-like space, skeletons scattered across the floor. I looked around the room; my eyes searched the walls and the piles of bones for paper or a scroll or something.

And then, beneath the dirt and bones, laid a scroll. I swallowed and dropped to my knees in front of it, digging through the bones and centuries of old debris and reached towards the paper. This was it. Finally I would be free, finally I would be able to get out of the hell hole asylum and maybe go find Sweet Pea, see how she was doing, see how her family was. Let them know that Rocket died a hero. That Rocket WAS a hero. She gave her life for her sister, how Sweet Pea gave up her freedom for Rocket.

She gave her life for us all.

My finger grazed the paper just as a large hand gripped my forearm, tearing me away from my prize and ripping me into the air. Face to face with this beast, cuts decorating the tough hide and a snarl erupting from its throat, and a swell of fear squeezed my chest. I cried out as his fingers dug into my arm, feeling the tissue begin to bruise and my bones ache under the pressure. "Rocket!" I howled as it opened its mouth, glinting, straight teeth moving towards my shoulder. I kicked and screamed like a banshee, swinging at its face with my free arm. He snorted and shook away my attacks like I was a fly that had been annoying him. Feeling my bones creaking under the pressure of his hand, I fought through the pain and reached over my shoulder, my fingers wrapping around my sword. I drew it and, before he could do anything, plunged it into the area where his shoulder met his neck. He howled in pain, grabbing the spot with his other hand and flailing me around. The swinging pulled sharply on my shoulder, making the joint scream in pain, on the verge of being dislocated. Rocket stumbled in; her own set of bruises spotted her face and hands. Though, the injuries on her hand were probably from her knocking his face in.

"You son of a—" she leapt through the air, her wings spreading wide as she spread her arms, swooping towards me. She grabbed me just as the monster hurled me towards a stone wall and pulled me into her chest tightly. With a sudden dip, she swooped down towards the papers. I reached down quickly, snagging the corners and pulled them into my arms, the creature still yowling in agony. And, pulling me in closer and ducking her head over me, Rocket slammed through an eroded spot in the roof, almost thirty feet up, and out into the open air. We flew in silence for a while, Rocket holding my body to hers around my waist, my arms around her neck. "Are you alright?" she asked, pushing my bangs from my face carefully before moving her arm back into the bracing position. I looked at her before nodding, unable to keep the breathless grin off my face.

"Yeah… I think so…" I touched her eyebrow, the bright red blemish beginning to form and she winced. "Are YOU ok?" She laughed once.

"Are you kidding me? I'm fan-freaking-tastic." I looked up.

"What's with the wings?" I looked back to her "some parlour trick you learned where ever it is that you went?" She smirked and then sighed, with content or exhaustion, I couldn't tell.

"Death gives you a better understanding of life. A better understanding of life gives you a better sense of reality. And a better sense of reality—"

"Gives you a better sense of the worlds we create." She nodded

"It gives you more power in the worlds we create." She glanced up at the wings and the back to me. "I think it came in pretty handy, all things considered." I smiled and looked into her eyes, noticing that how in the setting sun her hair had a fire-y-gold colour and her eyes were as green as emeralds. How her light skin got a beautiful rosy complexion in the fading light. "What?" she asked, noticing how I was looking at her was different than usual. I felt a hot blush creeping out from under my collar and spreading up my face.

"It's nothing…" I mumbled, looking away for a second before meeting her eyes again. "It's just…no ones ever taken me flying before." She laughed once without humour.

"I'd hardly say this is romantic OR impressive." I rolled my eyes

"A girl with wings is holding me as we fly over the ocean. That seems pretty good to me." She smiled, her own face turning slightly rosy. "Rocket…" she looked into my eyes as I looked back into hers and suddenly felt winded, my heart slamming in my chest and butterflies humming in my stomach. I adjusted my arms around her neck slightly, her arms moving to hold me closer. "I just—"

"You gotta go, Baby." She said, cutting me off, an aggravated tone to her voice. She pulled me closer so her lips her by my ear. "We'll talk later, I promise." She squeezed me tight for a moment. "Are you ready?" I nodded and she let go at the same time I did.

I blinked.

When I opened my eyes, I was sprinting out the door of Blue's office, the papers in one hand, Blue's blood covering the other.


	3. Russian Mother Bear

**So, hi.**

**In this chapter, I did a little bit of character exploration and tried to get to the heart of the characters…somewhere I hit a road block so I don't know how far I got. But, I hope you enjoy it.**

**This chapter felt kind of rushed but, ya know…**

I ran down the hallway, the papers clenched tightly in my hands. The blood felt slick as I curled my fingers into a fist. Tears streamed endlessly from my eyes, surprising me and nearly stopping me. I didn't know why I was crying, why I was so out of breath and sobbing like a baby. I couldn't remember entering Blue's office, I couldn't remember getting the papers, and I definitely didn't remember how I got Blue's blood on my hands, only that I had. Somehow.

I heard him screaming as I ran, heard him yelling after me, profanities decorating his vocabulary. Heard him knocking things over as he tried to get up, heard him yelling for his Henchmen. It only pushed me on harder, made me run faster than I thought possible. And, oddly enough, I found out something that should've been obvious to me.

I didn't like this world.

The world where I was scared, the world where I was powerless. Where I was weak and couldn't fight worth a damn. I swallowed back against the tears in my eyes as my bare feet slapped painfully against the filthy tiles. I heard footsteps following me and, as I turned back to look, I tripped on the too-long pant legs, sending me careening into the floor, a hard smack of the side of my head on the ground sent black dots across my vision and made my limbs numb. The papers flew from the folder, falling like feathers around me. "No…" I whimpered, watching my last shred of hope flutter down around me. "Oh no, no, no, no." That was it. The end. Nothing could save me now. I laid my head down, giving up. There was no point. Nothing I could do now would help me. I clenched my fingers by my side. Blue would come for me. He'd make me pay for what I did, whatever it was. Whether he'd beat me or do something worse, I couldn't tell. I guess it wouldn't matter anyway. I'd be a vegetable in a couple hours. Then nothing he could do to me would do anything. For once, I'd be free of the rest of the world. I could be with Rocket and everyone else again. We could be together for the rest of eternity.

I could've smiled.

The thought of being able to be with her…forever was amazing.

My feelings for Rocket had become…confusing to say the very least. I loved her, I'd always loved her. But the WAY I loved her had started to become fuzzy. When she'd come back to me, I was overjoyed. It was like I'd come back to life myself. Like I had died along with Rocket. I'd mourned her like I mourned my mother and sister. And when we were flying, her arms around me, looking the way she did, like the world was a great place, a feeling had swelled in me that I'd never felt before. It was like liquid heat flowed in my veins, like I hadn't even existed until I met her. But I didn't know how I could…how I should…IF I should tell her.

I guess I'd have forever to ponder it.

Or I did at least, until two, black pumps stopped in front of my face. I just kept crying. Two gentle but firm hands grasped my biceps carefully. "Babydoll?" a heavily accented voice asked, helping me up off the ground. Ms. Gorski pushed the hair from my face as she sat me up. I sniffled like a catatonic moron. The therapist had begun using the names we'd given ourselves as a form of helping us 'deal with our emotional issues'. She wiped away the tears from my eyes and lifted the blood drenched hand at my elbow. "Babydoll, what has happened?" She gasped, looking at my other arm, lifting it to the light. Shock jolted me slightly. Around my forearm were long bruises in the shape of fingers. I winced as she touched them gingerly. I looked up at her, as she looked at the papers and the back to me. I swallowed hard

"Please, Ms. Gorski…" I breathed "please, don't let them take me…" She furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Who? Who is coming—"

"You little bitch!" Blue snarled, awkwardly shuffling down the hall towards us, clutching a rag to the junction between his shoulder and neck. "How dare you stab me you—"

"Silence!" Ms. Gorski snapped, pulling me to my feet, hiding me behind her. "How dare you speak to one of these girls in that manner!" he looked at her flabbergasted.

"She broke into my office and stole the documents that are now scattered around the damn hallway! And the best part is, when I tried to stop her, she STABBED ME WITH A LETTER OPENER!"

"He signed the Lobotomy papers!" they all turned and looked at me, a flooded look of fury spread over Blue's face.

"What?"

"He forged you signature on the papers, he's trying to get them to turn me into a vegetable so I can't fight back anymore!" And, like a gift from above, the signed sheet was at my feet. I reached down and showed it to Gorski. I held it out to the Russian woman, showing her the signature scrawled at the bottom of the page. And, from the look on her face, Gorski had realised immediately what it was. She looked at Blue like a grizzly bear would look at a coyote trying to hurt her cubs. Like she was about to tear him limb from limb and leave him to die. She glared at him and he started to back up down the hall. She opened her mouth, snarling Russian words at him at the speed of a freight train, advancing and pulling me along. She backed him into a closet and slammed the door, locking it with her key and then barring it by cramming a broom handle underneath. She looked at me and wiped away more tears, calming down a bit.

"Do not worry, Babydoll," she said quietly. "You will come home with me." She looked around the hall, an expression of total revolution covering her face. "I will not leave you in this place another second." I blinked at her and she patter my cheek, "come, come. I will give you a room and you can stay for few days."

Vera, as she insisted I call her, brought me to a very well furnished house; filled with finely made leather couches, carved wooden tables and diamond chandeliers and fine wooden flooring. She insisted that I take my time taking a shower and try to relax. She thought that maybe afterwards she could make me some soup and then she'd show me to a room that I could sleep in. I walked into the bathroom and couldn't help the swell of familiarity at the Victorian claw foot tub, even with the shower attached. The clean tiled floor and vanity mirror. The soft glow of the light bulbs reminded me of the bathroom in my mother's mansion. I remembered how she used to help me do my hair, how she used to teach me how to put on makeup…

I bit my lip as I reached up to drop my clothes, one hand sticky, the other aching. When I stepped into the warm water of the shower, I felt my tense muscles begin to relax. I sighed, pulling my hair out of the pigtails and tilting my head back into the pour. I grabbed the soap and raised my arm to wash off the grime and blood and winced, my bruised arm only lifting to my waist. I closed my eyes against the pain and, when I opened them, I stood in the shower of my house, the same tiled flooring, same flawless porcelain tub. I looked around, surprised by the washing safety that came over me. I moved my arm again and winced. Apparently, my imagination wasn't enough to take away the injuries I'd gotten in both this world and reality. "Shit." I muttered before jumping as the shower curtain slid open, revealing Rocket, wearing a cropped top and underwear, her brilliant wings folded up against her back. "oh!" I gasped, trying to cover up. "What are you doing?" She rolled her eyes and placed my arms by my side, the water already dripping from her hair.

"Now, now, Babydoll." She said, examining my arms and neck as if running through a check list. "This isn't the time to be modest. As your Guardian, I have to take care of you. So, your inability to clean the grime from your skin requires me to help you." She gently spun me around so my back was to her. "Relax, Babydoll. There's nothing here I haven't seen before. We all changed in the same room at the brothel, remember?" I sighed and nodded

"Right." Her fingers started to massage the shampoo into my hair.

"So, why do you still have your wings?" I asked after a long silence. She sighed dramatically.

"I can't figure out how to put them away. I don't think I CAN put them away."

"Is it annoying?"

"Yeah, as you can see I can't exactly wear normal clothing and I'm not about to put on a white robe and carry a harp." I laughed and could practically see the smile on her face.

"Rocket?" I asked as we stepped out of the shower, the strawberry-blonde wrapping a towel around me. She looked at me with the bright hazel eyes, shining like jade in the sunlight coming through the window.

"Yeah?" She asked, towelling off her head and body. I looked at the ground, the damn butterflies returning to the pit of my stomach. It took me a second to fight through them and look her in the eyes again.

"Could we talk now?" She looked away, through the window and then back to me.

"Soon, Babydoll, I promise. We've still got a long journey to my parents' house." I blinked.

Her parents' house?

"Your parents' house?" I asked, letting her sit me down on the small, wooden stool next to the bathtub. She carefully lifted my arm to remove it from the shelter of the towel and expose the long, handprint of a bruise that wrapped itself around my arm. I winced and she murmured a quiet apology.

"What? Did you think I was just going to break you out of the asylum and walk away with a 'well, it was nice knowing you!'?"

"No…but I didn't think that we'd go to your parents house." She rolled her eyes and carefully examined my arm. "Will Sweet Pea be there?" I inquired and a shadowed expression covered her face. Something that looked like sadness mixed with joy. One of the most interesting expressions I'd ever seen. I put my hand over hers, gently squeezing, trying to comfort her. She gave me a weak smile.

"Yeah, yeah she will. She made it there alright. Told Mom what I wanted her to…" her eyes unfocused briefly again before they connected with mine again. "It's great…really."I held her hand this time, prying it away from my arm and clasping my other hand on top.

"What's wrong, Rocket?" She stood up, pacing back and forth in the decently sized room, her feet slapping against the tiles.

"Nothing's WRONG, per-say…" I sat patiently, wrapped in a towel, sitting on a stool and watching my not-so-dead-dead friend pace back and forth while seemingly pissed off. But patient none the less. "I just…I didn't leave home on the best of terms with my parents, ya know? It's going to be weird to see them and know that they could say whatever the hell they wanted about me because they can't see me."

"Rocket, I don't think they'd speak badly about their dead daughter."

"You'd think, wouldn't you?"

"Rocket…"

"Whatever." She shook her head, leaning back against the counter top. "It doesn't matter. I'm fine. You're free and soon enough you'll be safe." I stood up and walked to her, clutching the towel closer around my body.

"Come here." I said, spreading my free arm out to her. She hesitated, the feathery extensions on her back fluttering with tension and nervousness. She was upset, that much was obvious. From the slight glimmering in her eyes to the way her arms were crossed over her chest. "Come on." I coaxed her until she took one tentative step towards me. Her arms wrapped around my shoulders and I held her around the waist, feeing the soft, damp feathers tickle my skin once again.

"We're going to be fine." Rocket said, gently stroking the back of my head. I nodded and sighed, the heat from her body warming mine.

"I know."

I hoped.

**Remember, every time you review a Zombie Unicorn Zebra gets its wings.**


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